Why Social Media Accounts Are Hacked

There are chances that you read on social media for risk for attacks or hacked accounts, but why would they go to the trouble? If you have always wondered how someone can benefit from hacking your personal accounts, even if you’re not famous, rather than use the skills to attack a bank, you’re not alone. That’s a common question. We will provide some reasons why hackers are targeting social media accounts and how they benefit. The aim is to show how important it is to stay protected even if you are an average Joe.

For laughs

There are many reasons behind piracy social media accounts, and be famous is not one of the most important, while the fun is.

When the cartoonist Todd McFarlane was hacked in 2015, the attacker gained control of its account, posted words of another Canadian, Drake.

That was it, no foul, just kidding without major damage done. The only other thing noticed was that McFarlane was following more Greg Capullo, a frequent collaborator. It seems to have been just for fun.

Forced shares

The second biggest reason to attack social media is forcing actions. This time happened to someone we knew – was taken to their Facebook account for the shares. The attacker used his account to share and mark several people on their list of friends with a website link to the naked content. So far it does not seem too dangerous, but the reality is that there may be more harm than people imagine. For example, suppose you have a few people on your list of friends interested in click on the link to see the naked content. They click on the link, but the site is full of viruses, Trojans, the pages created for phishing and malware. All these serious issues and spawn harmful to click on a single link. The person we are talking also been harassed on the display of spam leading to naked pictures until it was confirmed that he had been hacked. It can be scary when your account is controlled by a mystery person.

Forced follows

The next reason for social media accounts hacked forced to follow. Your account can be just a piece of the puzzle in a grand scheme to hack other accounts, all followed a certain account. Often these are forced to follow a false company or brand which then uses them to spread malware using the same approach as above.

Unlike stocks and forced messages, it is possible that you will not notice that you’ve been strength follow until it is too late. You may be looking to your diet one day and notice something that looks like a brand you follow, but you do not remember to follow them.

Getting information

Curiously, access social media account for your information is the last reason.

By accessing your account, the attacker can simply try to get your password to try to use it on other accounts, such as websites of bank accounts or retailers, hoping that this is the same. They may try to get personal information that you have hidden, eg when working. It could even be a stalker fan club trying to understand your plans.

Ways to keep yourself protected…

To understand how to stay protected, you must first understand how hackers work and do their magic. Here are some methods that are used for the benefit of social media hacking, and ways to defend yourself from all of them.

…from brute force attacks

This method is used by hackers to obtain information about you, such as an email address, and use it as a tool to guess passwords. It can even be a simple password recovery tool that has been modified for the purposes of criminal hacking.

Make sure you use passwords that are not easy to guess based on any of your personal information. Passwords should never be words or phrases commonly used. Both upper and lower case letters must be used, and the numbers and / or symbols if permitted. It is recommended to use at least 12 characters, but many do not use less than 15 characters, because it is almost impossible (but not completely) to hack simply by brute force.

…from man-in-the-middle attacks

This method requires the attacker to be in the middle of the situation, for example, a conversation between your computer and a server or a replacement computer. It is common for this hack to occur at public Wi-Fi hotspots, but it can be carried everywhere. Because this kind of piracy may be impossible to detect if you are not looking, you may not know that it is even happening. As pirate crashes in the middle of your conversation, the best defense is to ensure that all information is encrypted. The most flexible method and the easiest way is to determine the best VPN provider based on your goals. The VPN tool allows you to encrypt the information transmitted from your computer to a server or another computer. This leaves the pirate with encrypted content that appears as gibberish that can not be read or decoding.

See also: How To Protect USB Pen drive With Password

…from phishing pages

Phishing pages are like any other normal page, but they are designed to obtain information. Although most often obtained by e-mail phishing pages can be on social media too. The basic design is that you enter the login information of a website, such as an online banking site, your social media account, or even show a message “emergency” as “the IRS will garnish you learn. ”

The number one way to protect yourself is not to trust a website. If you receive an email, do not click any link; instead, type the URL of the company manually. This will allow you to type correctly and it is not a hidden link. In addition, as with the example above IRS, always contact the company personally before clicking on links.

…from Trojan horse

Just like when the Greeks used the big Trojan horse to access Troy by hiding the men inside in modern technology, a Trojan refers to authorize a download on the computer appears to be one thing, but is not what it seems like. When spread through social media, it is usually a keylogger that can record keystrokes.

Know what you download and where it comes from. There are sites that focus on this effect known as the “warez” sites. Find the main source of the download is always the first most important step to download something. The second defense is going to be your antivirus software has a powerful firewall, and 99% of the remainder will be treated.

Social media is not just fun and games

Maybe you just get on Facebook to time, or use it to keep in touch with family, or maybe you are one of these Farmville addicts or Pet Rescue. Even if it is just something you do for fun or play games, to stay protected can become a serious problem once it is too late and a hacker gets the wrong information.

If you do not take steps to protect you, the real consequences may occur. Start by updating the passwords to other safer, adding some type of encryption, and do not follow each link you are provided with.